NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS!

On Saturday we received our Homeland Security clearance for adoption. This is what we have been waiting for! Some people wait up to 6 weeks for this... ours came in just 12 days. So we are thankful. Thank you especially for praying! We took Bethlehem to Seattle Sunday night to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebreate and had quite a time of it! She is so fun to watch when she gets to go have Ethiopian food! :)

Receiving the I-171H papers from Homeland Security is the last step on our side in order to receive a referral for miss "T." Thank you for your continued prayers for the referral and for God's perfect timing in all of this!

We love you,
Jim, Jaci & Bethlehem 

Homeland Security Done!
So this morning we headed up to Tukwila for our 8:00 am biometrics appointment at Homeland Security. Traffic was great... the appointment went smoothly... and we are thankful to be done with yet one more little "hoop." This is basically a finger printing appointment. From the adoption blogs it appears we will get a response anywhere from one week to six weeks from now. At that point we expect to get the official referral for little miss "T." We are in a big waiting period right now... but there is lots to do as we work at the church and at home so we are ready for our first trip to Ethiopia... perhaps in March or April. Please pray for us to use this time well, and for God's protection and preparation of miss "T." Thank you! We love you! Jim & Jaci  

Finally a date we can look forward to!
For the past month or so we have been on hold... or should I say waiting to hear something we can share. We finally have a new date to look forward to... we have our biometrics appointment up at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Department of Homeland Security) in Tukwila. On Jan. 15 we are to go there and have our fingerprints and photos taken. It's the final step (that we know about anyway) before we are able to recieve our "referral" from Children's House International for our daughter. We hope that about a week or so after Jan. 15 to have the referral... then we should receive a date to travel to Ethiopia and meet "T." Thank you for keeping us in your prayers even during these long slow periods of waiting. And please pray for our daughter's protection from all evil in Ethiopia. Please pray God is preparing her heart to come be in our family. Thank you! Jim & Jaci

Be a PIECE of the Kennington's Adoption!

Dear family and friends... thank you for your interest in our adoption! Okay, I think we need to clarify this some... we have set up an account for donations at YWAM Adoption Ministry. The total cost for our adoption is estimated at $30,000. We are hoping to raise $15K of the funds by making a Kennington Adoption puzzle with 500 pieces. If you contribute a $30 gift (tax deductible through YWAM) we will write your name on the back of one of the puzzle pieces. When all is said and done the front will be a big framable family photo  including our new daughter. The back will be the names of all the people that helped bring her into our family!

YWAM charges about 2% for most donations made through their website (credit cards or PayPal), but you can also send in a check directly to them and no charge is made for checks. If you choose to send your donation by mail please make checks payable to YWAM Adoption Ministry and send it to:

YWAM Adoption Ministry
PO Box 512
Puyallup, WA 98371

Be sure not to write our name ANYWHERE on the actual check for the gift to be tax deductible! 

YWAM will send out tax deductible gift receipts to you and we will get your names from the list of donors provided by YWAM.

We invite you to journey with us and pray for our family, including little miss "T" in Ethiopia. We will keep you posted here no the blog, which is also accessible from our Kennington Adoption Facebook page.

Thank you so much for helping us change the life of another precious little girl!

We love you! Then Kenningtons

PS - please pass this on!! 

Home Study Approved!

This week our home study was approved and sent on to Children's House International and to the Assistant Stork in Washington DC to be taken to the Ethiopian Embassy. This was a major milestone in our adoption process, and one which we have waited for the past couple of months. The next step is expected to take another 6-8 weeks. After that we will likely get our court date and start making plans to go to Ethiopia to meet our daughter. Please pray for God's hand and timing in all of this! Thank you so much! We love you, Jim & Jaci

Surprise! One more daughter from Ethiopia!

We have been so blessed by our daughter, Bethlehem, whom we adopted in 2010. She is a bright, funny, engaging daughter who loves God! She has adapted to our family and is making friends at school and church. We love the fact that God's plan included Bethlehem in our family.

In mid-September some friends, Brian & Jan Rodenbeck, mentioned another little girl (she is 7) who is at the same orphanage and is waiting for a family.  We had some interest right away in the possibility and began praying. After talking to YWAM Adoption Ministry of Ethiopia and talking and praying as a family, we believed God was leading us to ask to adopt her.

So, here we are, leaning on the Everlasting Arms! We are really excited to welcome this dear child into our lives and home. We are presently awaiting a formal referral from YWAM & CHI. We covet your prayer support that God will open the doors as He wills. 

After a formal referral is made to us to adopt her, we will be setting up an account with YWAM Adoption Ministry to help us fund the adoption. You can also keep up with our adoption on the Kennington Adoption page on Facebook.

Thank you for your prayers!

Jim, Jaci, & Bethlehem Kennington

YWAM Ethiopia Adoption Ministry

We're Home!

Dear praying friends,
We arrived home on Friday night after an arduous journey from Addis to Rome to Washington D. c. to Seattle. We were so glad to be safely home and in our own home and beds again! Bethlehem did great on the flights and is adjusting well to "America." as soon as my laptop is repaired I will upload some new photos. Today we are flying to Denver for my sister's Memorial Service. I was saddened to learn she was in the hospital with lung cancer when we returned from Ethiopia. She passes away yesterday and her service is tomorrow.
We love you!
Jim, Jaci, and Bethlehem